$200 Cash Giveaway for Homeschoolers

You can enter to win $200 in cash from Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies by following the link and the directions. I think it is absolutely awesome that all of these wonderful people teamed up to do such a great giveaway. There are a lot of options for entries and plenty of extra's as well!!

For the Sake of Sanity

Yes I have had cause for a sanity check and it comes in the form of deciding on the path of homeschool. For our 1st year, which was this past year, I went a safe route and chose to do K12 through our state with just a 1st grader. Well this upcoming year I will have a 2nd grader and Kindergartener plus a preschooler, therefore I am even more skiddish than previously. I am confident in the curriculum provided by K12 but worry that it is going to be too much?

I know that I can adjust accordingly and the curriculum is mastery based, allowing the children to work towards an objective not completion of work. With that said, I believe if I can get one more year under my belt I will have the confidence and piece of mind to go the traditional route and pick and choose my curriculum.

For fear of over emphasizing this topic and boring you to death, what are your thoughts? How did your journey start and what were the results of the first year? Did you make any changes mid year, end year, were you ever disappointed at your original choices? I would just like some feedback to help me make some more informed decisions.

Bucket List: Day 4

Today was Awesome! We went to the Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens and used our family pass that I purchased back in February of this year. Finally got there about 10am and sprayed everyone with sunscreen, bought some water when we got through the door, and had a blast. 

One of their favorite things was riding the tram across the bridge to the gardens and walking through all the pretty flowers. The smells were unbelievable and I have to tell you it was just beautiful on the senses. My passion for being a mother is coming back more and more, because I have resolved to make every moment count with these precious children. 

If you haven't done so, carve out some time to do something special with them. It does not have to cost money or be far away, something as simple as watching movies snuggled up on the couch one day, making a homemade pizza, or making homemade postcards to send to grandparents. Just as long as you are involved and give them attention they and you alike will benefit from the time together.

 

Bucket List: Day 3

We went a little lazy on Day 3 and made it a write letters to our pen pals kind of day and skill practice day for Little E. I of course had Princess Aurora dictate to me her letter, and then she drew her a picture. Ben 10 wrote his own letter, but needed a bit of coaching, because he is definitely my child that does NOT like writing. 

I am not sure if this is a boy/girl thing, because I have always loved writing, no matter what it was for. However, Ben 10 has got to despise writing about as much as he does taking a shower, haha!!

Little E did pages out of his Summer Bridge Activity book. I have him doing the Pre-K to Kindergarten book because that is as low as it goes and I figured at least it will help him get up to that level if nothing else. Princess Aurora and Ben 10 did several pages out of their book as well and again while Princess Aurora loved her pages, Ben 10 was against me?? That child is going to grey me prematurely, I promise you that.

Well overall it was a lazy day but we were productive and I kept them active to keep that summer boredom at bay.

 

Bucket List: Day 2

Today was another indoor day for us and we had a lot of fun because Little E's best friend came over for a playdate and we had taco's for lunch. Our choice for today off the Summer 2012 bucket list was to "create a boxtown" and we definitely were not very creative, but with a 7 year old, 5 year old, and two 3 year olds there isn't a whole lot that you can do.

We took some basic boxes that Sportscenter(for future reference this is my luv) brought home were small and had wording on them, and used our rainbow of sharpie markers to decorate away. Ben 10 tried to replicate my house/building exactly, Princess Aurora did a very colorful display of mini windows and doors, and Little E with his best friend had some great abstract houses.

After we finished our boxes and were content with the end products we found some toy cars and people and drove around town for a while. However, the boxes ended upside down and the kids used them as a fun way to hide each other, by closing up the tops!! Overall it was a great day and I have to say they did not get bored, however my list is still full so I have lots to do.

Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies

I found this wonderful site through another blog I follow called Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies and by clicking on the link you can enter to win a wonderful kit called "We Choose Virtues". I looked over the kit and thought it was a wonderful way to teach your children virtues, and right now I need all the help I can get. 

If you want to go directly to the site where you can purchase the kit click here and you will be directed to the site. A very brief and to the point kit, that is fun and worthwhile. Saying a prayer I am a winner or may you will be?!

Bucket List: Day 1

Today was so amazing! I actually took time out to be with my kids and it made me smile like I haven't smiled in quite some time. We actually completed 2 items off our list today as we joined the Summer Reading Program at our local library (pictures to come throughout the summer for that) and we built a fort and lived in it all day (well at least until dinner time).


I am not as good at building forts as I used to be, when my brother and I were younger. However, I used what resources were available to me and made a pretty decent fort for us to use today. Prior to going in the fort we got lunch ready, and placed blankets on the floor. Once we finished eating we got all the pillows we could find and snuggled up under the fort while watching "The Labyrinth" on Netflix. For those 1980's children out there you totally understand the awesomeness that is David Bowie and his hair in that movie. 


Here are just a few shots of our adventure today, and this is also part of the list, me taking Instagram photo's and they also wrote/drew in their journals to catalog our journey together.

I loved today more than I think I will ever be able to describe. Memories are worth the effort they take to make and I plan on making lots of them with those sweet faces :-)